Gail climbs the tree again
by raisingme
Summary: Set post 5x3. While high as a kite off of pain meds, Gail the cat suddenly realizes that she needs to reclimb Holly the tree (this is such a bad summary, my apologies!).


"Hi Dr. Stewart."

"Please, Holly is fine."

"Okay, hi Holly." Oliver smiled warmly at the brunette. "I really appreciate you coming down here. I know that things have been, uh, a little weird between you two lately."

"That's one way to put it."

"Anyway, we're kinda swamped at 15 right now, but the doctor said that someone needs to stay with her for the rest of the day and the night. And she lives alone now since she moved out of Chez Peckstein, so"

"Wait. Gail doesn't live with Dov and Chris anymore?"

"Uh, nope. She got her own place shortly after fight night."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so like I said, we're swamped here at 15, plus she lives alone now, so there really isn't anyone else to watch her. And of course there's the fact that she's been asking for you non-stop since the drugs kicked in."

"She has?" Holly looked at Oliver, hopeful and scared at the same time.

"Darling, I don't know exactly what happened between the two of you," he paused as he slowly took a step forward and lowered his voice, "but I know that she is still absolutely crazy about you."

Holly took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip, trying her hardest to keep her now quickly beating heart from exploding out of her chest.

"Okay then!" Oliver clapped his hands together before pointing behind him. "So she's back there, in room 17. Thanks again, Holly." He patted her shoulder and then walked quickly past the brunette, down the hallway towards the exit.

"Okay then," said the brunette to herself, "here goes nothing."

Holly walked down the hallway and easily found room 17. The door was slightly ajar, but she still quietly knocked before opening it. As she stepped inside, she saw a sleeping Gail on the gurney. She studied the woman in front of her. She seemed so peaceful, happy even. Her breathing was even and steady, but Holly noticed that she had an IV still in. She became a little concerned. Oliver told her that Gail's injuries were very minor, but if that were the case then Holly couldn't figure out why why Gail had needed IV fluids.

"Okay Officer Peck, it looks like you're just about ready to go." Holly was immediately startled by the woman behind her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that anyone was in here with her. I'm Lauren, the nurse."

"Hi, I'm Holly, the uh"

"Girlfriend."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Is that not the right word? Do you prefer partner?"

"Uh…"

"She's been talking about you non-stop...kept asking when you were going to get here, when you were going to take her home, how much she loved you, how IN love with you she was." The woman laughed at the last bit.

"She said that she was in love with me?" Holly was barely able to squeak it out.

"Yep. Wouldn't shut up about it actually." She laughed again. "Oh, and kept talking about how she was the idiot and it was all her fault, but I'm pretty sure that was about the accident that landed her here."

All of this information overwhelmed Holly. She began to feel lightheaded. Oliver said that Gail was still crazy about her. Now Gail's nurse was telling her that she was all Gail could talk about. Not only that, but Gail kept telling anyone who would listen that not only did she love Holly, but she was IN LOVE with Holly. And that their breakup, or whatever it was, had been all Gail's fault. This was all too much for Holly. She was pretty sure her body was about to forget how to breathe.

"Okay, so the IV is out and she's ready to go!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay...thanks." Holly hadn't realized that during her momentary internal freak out Lauren had been talking to her. She smiled at the nurse as she went to leave the room. Lauren stopped at the door and turned to say something to Holly. "You know, you're really lucky," Holly looked at the woman, slightly confused, "to have someone who loves you that much. The thing about painkillers like that, is that it's sorta like truth serum. All their inhibitions are gone and you get to hear how they really feel. And she's _completely_ in love with you. That's really rare, a love like that, you know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Holly smiled before turning back to face Gail. "She's one of a kind." Holly just stood there for a few moments, watching Gail sleep. Who was she kidding? She was totally, completely, head over heels in love with Gail. That's why this breakup had been so hard for Holly. No, it hadn't been hard, it had been absolutely devastating. It had crushed Holly. Suddenly Gail started to stir. Holly moved closer and sat down in the chair next to the gurney. She gently stroked Gail's hair as the blonde slowly began to wake up.

"Holly?" croaked Gail.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here." Holly couldn't help but smile warmly at the woman in front of her.

"I'm so glad that you're here, I"

"Gail, it's okay. I know. We can talk later, I just"

"Shhh. Stop talking." Gail quickly put a hand over Holly's face and began to sit up in bed. Holly tried to speak, but Gail simply 'hushed' her again and pressed her hand harder against her mouth and face.

"You're a tree, Holly. Trees don't talk." Gail sat up completely and swung her feet over the side of the gurney. "Stand up. I don't think that trees can sit." By this point Gail has removed her hand from Holly's face so that she could place both hands palm down on the edge of the bed.

"Gail, I"

"Shhhhh," the officer placed her index finger over Holly's mouth. "No talky from the treey."

Holly stared at the now standing woman in front of her. She wasn't sure exactly _what _they had given Gail for the pain, but it certainly was the good stuff.

"Up." Gail motioned with her hands for Holly to stand. As she slowly got up from the chair Gail placed her hands on the brunette's shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "I love you, Holly. You are the best tree that could have ever happened to this cat. I was such a fool."

"You love me?" It was one thing to hear that Gail had been telling others that she loved Holly, but it was a completely different thing for Holly to actually hear those words come out of Gail's mouth.

"Yes." Gail began to awkwardly hug Holly as she continued. "Jumping from you was the most idiotic thing that I have ever done in my life." She paused for a moment before continuing. "And I've done a lot of idiotic things...like Nick and Chris." She giggled slightly at herself before taking a deep breath.

"Gail."

"Shhhh. Trees don't talk, remember?"

"I'm not a tree."

"Shhhhh. Yes you are. You're the most wonderful tree that I've ever climbed, and I don't want to turn into a sad, sorry cat who jumped out of that wonderful tree just because she got scared."

As Gail continued to awkwardly hug Holly, the brunette realized that she wasn't really hugging her, but rather trying to climb her like a jungle gym.

"Gail, what are you doing?"

"Shhhh. We've been over this, trees don't talk, Holly. Look, I was a fool and I'm trying to make it right. I love you and I'm in love with you. Climbing you was the best decision that I've ever made, and jumping out of you because of botched boob job is the worst mistake I've ever made. I have to climb you again. I belong in your branches. You're my home."

Suddenly it all made sense to Holly. She flashed back to the first day that the two had met, and the time that they spent together in the morgue.

"_Holly, I'm like a cat. I'm very good at climbing trees, and then the minute that I get up there I have no idea what to do. I want to get down, but I don't know how to do that, so I create an emergency situation to get out of it."_

"_Of the tree?"_

"_Of relationships."_

"Hey, Gail."

"Shhhh. No talking." By this time Holly was basically holding Gail on her hip, like she would a toddler. The brunette was extremely grateful that regardless of what was going on in her life, she made a point out to work out regularly. At this point Gail had her arms wrapped around Holly's neck, and the side of her face gently rested on the tree's chest. As uncomfortable as it was holding a fully grown woman in her arms like a small child, Holly relished this interaction with Gail. The brunette stood there, listening to Gail's steady breathing, and thinking about everything she had learned in the past 20 or so minutes. She thought back to the last time she had seen Gail, at the Penny when everything collapsed. Holly had been so hurt when Gail simply left without letting her explain. She told herself that Gail simply needed some time to cool off. But that hurt quickly turned to devastation when Gail ignored all her text messages and phone calls over the next few days...days that then turned into weeks. Holly couldn't believe that that was how Gail had chosen to break up with her. She thought that they had something special. She thought that this relationship was really going somewhere, but then Gail just threw her out like last week's leftovers.

Or at least that's what Holly _thought _had happened.

Except now here she was in a hospital room with Gail in her arms.

A Gail who had been telling everyone who would listen that she loved Holly, was _in love_ with Holly, and that their relationship implosion had been all her fault. Not only that, but Gail had told _Holly_ that she loved her.

The brunette sighed. She knew that while Gail was willing to take full responsibility for their relationship woes, that didn't mean that Holly was completely blameless in this situation. Holly had realized even before that night at the Penny that she was in deep with Gail. She knew that she loved her, but hadn't told Gail yet because she was afraid it was too soon. She didn't want to scare Gail off. She was afraid that she would run. Instead, Holly's inaction had helped propel Gail out of the tree.

Suddenly the woman in her arms shifted. Holly quickly adjusted her weight so that the two of them wouldn't go crashing to the floor. Gail pulled back slightly, and gently cupped Holly's face.

"Can we go home now? I think I'm going to need to use the litterbox soon."

Holly smirked, but was able to keep from actually laughing at Gail. "Do you need to go here before we leave?"

"No, I don't like the litterbox here. I can wait."

"Okay, yeah, we can go home." Holly smiled warmly at the cat still in her arms. "Let's get you down from this tree." Gail looked panicked as Holly began to lower her to the ground. The brunette quickly realized her poor choice of words.

"Hey, it's okay. Gail, look...you can take my branch with your paw." The doctor extended her hand out to the blonde, and she gratefully took it, intertwining their fingers. She smiled at Holly, before pulling their clasped hands to her mouth, to gently kiss the back of her hand.

"I love you, Holly."

"I love you too, Gail."


End file.
